Seaway Trail
New York's Seaway Trail: A Year-round Birdwatchers’ Paradise

The Bird and Boat-friendly Seaway Trail Shoreline (NY) [1]

From the Eastern Bluebird, Barn Swallow, Bluejay, and bittern to the occasional Harlequin Duck and all manner of migratory and resident raptors, songbirds and waterfowl, the 454-mile New York portion of the Seaway Trail along the bird-friendly freshwaters of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and Lake Erie is a birdwatchers’ paradise year-round.

Niagara Gorge on the Western Seaway Trail was New York’s second Important Bird Area (IBA), designated by the Audubon Society for its significance to at least 18 species of gulls as well as terns, ducks, geese, swans, hawks and falcons. Along Lake Ontario northwest of Rochester, NY, large concentrations of waterfowl congregate at Braddock Bay IBA in early spring. You will hear American Woodcocks at dawn and dusk. Common Snipes winnow overhead from March to June and owls are definite specialties here. Fifteen miles to the east of Rochester, see peregrine falcons nesting atop the Kodak Tower via Falconcam.

Another New York IBA, Derby Hill near Mexico Point, is noted for spectacular spring hawk flights. A pioneering study by The Nature Conservancy and New York Natural Heritage Program documented songbird concentrations in forests and shrubby habitat all along Lake Ontario’s eastern shoreline. The colorful neotropical migratory birds include warblers, orioles, thrushes, hummingbirds, tanagers, sparrows, flycatchers, hawks, and cuckoos.

Birders with disabilities enjoy the ADA-compliant Black Pond Wildlife Management Area with a half-mile boardwalk and observation platforms. The Nature Conservancy’s checklist lists 281 species of birds seen in the forest, marsh, pond, dune and lake habitats here. If you're lucky you might see Bald Eagles, Tundra Swans, or the Black Tern, an endangered species in New York.

The Seaway Trail is home to the world’s largest colony of Ring-billed Gulls – on Little Galoo Island out in Lake Ontario. Restoration efforts and shoreline habitats have spurred a revival of the Bald Eagle on the byway. Among the sightings of birds rarely seen along the Seaway Trail are American White Pelicans at Braddock Bay, Harlequin Ducks at Mexico Point, the very rare Ivory Gull and a Black-legged Kittiwake at Robert Moses State Park, and a Bohemian Waxwing near Robert Moses Power Dam at Massena, NY on the St. Lawrence River.

On inclement days, enjoy a visit to the Audubon centers and to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, NY. Come see the birds of New York’s Great Lakes Seaway Trail. Don’t forget your binoculars and camera! Download a Seaway Trail Birds Fact Sheet for your trip at http://www.seawaytrail.com.